Phishing ring defrauded victims of 1.1 billion won using 'no-show' scam

Suspects supplied with 136 burner phones, 395 SIM cards

[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Two men in their 20s who helped an overseas phishing ring manipulate outgoing caller IDs have been indicted. The pair moved between motels across the country to operate relay equipment, which the phishing organization used to defraud 39 victims of about 1.1 billion won ($710,000) through a scheme known as the "no-show" scam.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office indicted Park and Paeng, both in their 20s, on June 23 on charges including violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud, the Telecommunications Business Act and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. Their first trial is scheduled for July 8 at 10:10 a.m. at the Seoul Southern District Court.

Park and Paeng are accused of receiving instructions from an overseas phishing organization through social media platforms including Telegram to operate a caller-ID spoofing relay. The two checked into motels across the country, changing locations every week, and used 136 burner phones and 395 SIM cards delivered by courier from the phishing ring to set up and run the relay equipment.

Gang members installed remote-control apps on the phones the suspects managed and operated them remotely. This allowed gang members to call victims via internet telephony while displaying a standard domestic mobile number beginning with "010," making the calls appear to originate from within South Korea.

Using the relay, the overseas phishing ring defrauded 39 victims of about 1.1 billion won over roughly seven months from October last year through May, using the no-show scam, investigators found.

The no-show scam goes beyond simple reservation no-shows: perpetrators impersonate public institutions, military units or celebrities to make bulk reservations with small-business owners, then pressure them into purchasing specific goods on their behalf or making advance payments before disappearing with the money. In this case, gang members booked restaurants and lodgings, then demanded payment by asking owners to buy items from a particular vendor on their behalf before vanishing.

The two suspects were arrested May 27 — Park on a street in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and Paeng at a motel in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Police are continuing to track the overseas phishing organization and have booked about 90 people suspected of selling burner phones and SIM cards to the pair on charges of violating the Telecommunications Business Act, expanding the investigation.


won@heraldcorp.com